Seventeen-year-old pop star Gabriella Cilmi has blitzed this year's Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) awards, winning all six categories she was nominated in.

Cilmi took the first two gongs of the evening for Breakthrough Album and Breakthrough Single of the Year, before going on to win Single of the Year, Best Female Artist, Best Pop Release and Highest-Selling Single.

But Album of the Year went to electro duo The Presets, who also won Best Group and Best Dance Release.

Upon accepting the award, The Presets' Julian Hamilton hazarded a look at his notes, before thanking the pair's collaborators, families, friends and supporters.

"I have written here, 'Wow this is amazing, blah blah blah'," he said.

Backstage, Hamilton was asked what his greatest fear was from success.

"Getting too much radio play," he said. His band mate, Kim Moyes, chipped in: "Overkill."

Music veteran Nick Cave beat another new pop sensation, Sam Sparro, to take his second Best Male Artist ARIA award, but he was not present to accept it.

Victory beyond expectations

An ecstatic Cilmi, who turned 17 just over a week ago, described her wins as "mental", "crazy" and "cool" upon accepting her final award.

Speaking to reporters afterwards, the London-based singer said she was thrilled to be surrounded by her family, who took up two tables at the ceremony.

She said one of the highlights of the night was "seeing my grandmother chatting with Pink. That was awesome."

Asked if she expected to win all six awards, Cilmi said she had "estimated or hoped for two".

The Melbourne-born teenager's modern soul single, Sweet About Me, and album, Lessons To Be Learned, rocketed to number one on the Australian music charts earlier this year.

The critics' favourite, blind folk singer Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu, won Best Independent Release. He was beaten in three other categories: Best Album, Best Male Artist and Best Independent Release.

Gurrumul had already won Best World Music Album at the ARIA Fine Arts Awards.

'We tested our marriage'

Veteran rockers The Living End took the award for Best Rock Album, while husband-wife team Kasey Chambers and Shane Nicholson won Best Country Album for Rattlin Bones.

Backstage, they said making the album together had tested their marriage but "we compensate for each other's weaknesses".

Chambers said they could now be "be close to too close".

Bliss n Eso took the gong for Best Urban Album, while Delta Goodrem was awarded Highest-Selling Album.

Outrageous outfits

The night was peppered with perfomances by Sparro, Cilmi, Gurrumul, The Living End, The Presets, Faker and The Veronicas, but the musicians had to compete for attention with their sets and sometimes outrageous outfits.

American pop star Pink was the headlining act, driving a ride-on mower onto the stage to perform her song, So What, before presenting the top two awards with Rove McManus.

TV presenter James Mathieson shared hosting duties with comedy duo Hamish Blake and Andy Lee, who made their first entrance by dropping onto the stage from rigging above the audience.

There were also some unscripted mishaps, with presenters Faustina 'Fuzzy' Agolley and Nathan Sapsford tripping down stairs as they entered the stage.